DriveSmartBC

What are the rights and obligations of cyclists and motorists if the cyclist should choose to ride on the highway under snowy winter conditions? Uncleared pathways and cycling routes were forcing cyclists to choose to ride on the plowed streets of one Vancouver Island municipality resulting in a number of inquiries at city hall.

This issue of the Status Report looks at how long it takes a new safety feature will be present in the majority of vehicles on our highways actually incorporate these features. One example is front air bags which were first introduced in the mid - 1980's and it is estimated that they will reach the 95% inclusion level in 2016.

Occasionally I look at a driver around me in traffic and ask myself "what can they be thinking?" Today I wondered if the driver behind me was thinking at all! Road conditions could be described as typical BC winter driving, but this guy was so close that I couldn't see snow between the rear of my vehicle and the front of his.

Mark Clayton Mahovlich needed some ID because his driver's licence had been cancelled. He applied for a BCID using his brother's Care Card and birth certificate, neither of which carries a photo. Mark has a history of identifying himself as his brother and has caused significant problems for the brother by doing this.

I am occasionally asked about using the left foot for braking instead of the right foot. The usual justification given for this is that the brakes may be applied more quickly because the left foot is ready while the right foot is busy with the accelerator pedal.

No one rides in my vehicle unless they are wearing their seatbelt. I've actually investigated a death in a collision like this one. The forces of the rear seat passenger coming forward were enough to tear the front passenger seat out of the floor of the vehicle in addition to causing or contributing to the death of the woman seated in it.

The Road Safety Monitor is an annual Canadian public opinion survey conducted by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF). These two documents contain the result of the 2011 survey on drinking and driving in Canada and the breakdown by region across the country.

If there is one driving situation that I like the least, it has to be driving at night when it is raining. It was like driving into a wet coal sack and many of the environmental cues that I used to position my vehicle were unavailable to me. Although proper vision was my biggest worry, traction is also reduced and that must be taken into account.

In this case, Kathleen Haughian was proceeding eastbound on Sunset Street east of Smith Avenue in Burnaby, B.C.  Sunset Street in this location consists of two lanes in each direction with angle parking on both sides. The angle parking is toward traffic on the north side and away from traffic on the south side.